On Love and Forgiveness

“Letting go of perceived misfortune, true or not, is divine wisdom at work! There may be circumstances that are best served by forgiving another, but some things can’t be forgiven because it’s not appropriate. Setting up for a wonderful summer picnic only to find a deluge of a rainstorm washing it out doesn’t fair well for the one who ‘forgives’ the rain that had no inkling of your wishes that it didn’t show up.

“If someone owes you money that doesn’t come, why create negative judgments over it when you have no substantive idea of why it’s not forthcoming? People hold onto judgments for a lifetime not realizing that they have become their own worst enemy by lugging around angry feelings.

“Forgiving yourself has more value as you are the creator of the reasons to forgive by pointing the finger at someone you have made into a ‘culprit’, especially someone with whom you once shared wonderful moments with.

“What happens, happens. It’s an opportunity to look within if what happened has hurt you. Accept ‘the rain on the picnic’ and make the best of it while taking a little time for introspection. There is sunshine behind every cloud so why curse the rain that nourishes life around you?

Holding on to resentment of what happened to you from someone else will never solve the negative effects of the resentment. Shit happens! Some of it is beyond your control. Some of it is a misunderstanding or misperception. You might ask yourself what you need to change inside you to better see from the heart and clear perceptions and attachments.

“Why rob yourself of having as many beautiful moments as possible? Accept all with awareness and compassion as you move on to look for better and better answers to life’s teachings!

“Do you really ever love yourself? Start right now by mindfully opening your heart while letting go of perceptions that stir negativity in the heart’s love energy. To have to forgive is mental, the heart doesn’t judge. Responding with love and compassion is the best choice.”

I thank Arhata Osho for his permission to post the above piece he wrote on love and forgiveness. I find both love and forgiveness particularly relevant at this time in my life in regards to all my relations, but mostly within myself. I am thus especially grateful for Arhata’s shared wisdom and questions as I find myself wrestling around these days between my ego’s perceptions of my core wounding–abandonment–and what is most real–love.

What better time is there than right now to forgive myself, to let go of all perceptions of others being responsible for my own pain and illusions of suffering? I choose to see each person as a teacher whom I can thank for the gifts I learned from our souls touching in this life, regardless of the packages in which those gifts were wrapped! Every day, I need to remember to choose to be gentle and kind with myself and to let myself and others off the hook already, the hooks that serve only to feed my lower ego mind and block my own heart from opening and loving freely and unconditionally.

At this significant juncture of collective consciousness in the history of the universe, may we all remember to love and forgive ourselves–deeply. In doing so, we free ourselves immensely to feel more at peace and be more present so we can enjoy this precious gift we call life. After all, aren’t we here to learn, grow and heal? So why not let go and dive into our hearts with deeper doses of love and forgiveness?

“Are you ready? Let’s go!” ~ Patti Smith

Dear Self and anyone or anything I’ve ever harmed in any way,

Love,

Mary

7 Comments

I’m a huge advocate of introspection and forgiveness – in that order – so that we become both ‘aware of’ and ‘accountable for’ our part in any negative interaction. Forgiveness comes in all shapes and sizes, so there’s no reason to over-think it … harbouring resentments eventually become toxic to ourselves, so who does that benefit? So much more healthy to just absorb the lesson and walk away that much wiser … and leave the bitterness behind.

What a wonderful article. Forgiveness is so key in our ability to continue to move forward and to ultimately claim all the good that our Creator has for us. Asking for forgiveness of others is important, but also forgiving ourselves is paramount. Thanks for such a thought provoking post.

Forgiveness is important mostly for ourselves. Last year I was at a presentation about forgiveness. The presenter talked about the skills of forgiveness. Most of us never learn how to forgive only that we should. I’d like to contribute my little piece to this conversation. It’s good to have you back Mary.http://www.rlmnow.com/forgiveness/

If you don’t forgive yourself and others, what you’re doing is allowing those things to control you. Those things will be sitting in the back of your mind, whether you are consciously aware of them or not, draining your energy and not letting you relax and enjoy your life fully.